Should I create a generation 1 or 2 virtual machine in Hyper-V?
Applies To: Microsoft Hyper-V Server Technical Preview, Windows 10, Windows Server Technical Preview
This content is preliminary and subject to change.
Your choice to create a generation 1 or generation 2 virtual machine will depend on which guest operating system you want to install and the boot method you want to use to deploy the virtual machine. We recommend that you create a generation 2 virtual machine to take advantage of features like Secure Boot unless one of the following statements is true:
The VHD you want to boot from is not UEFI-compatible.
Generation 2 doesn’t support the operating system you want to run on the virtual machine.
Generation 2 doesn’t support the boot method you want to use.
You can’t change a virtual machine’s generation after you’ve created it. So review the following sections in this article to make sure the generation you pick supports the operating system, boot method, and features you want to use.
Which guest operating systems are supported?
How can I boot the virtual machine?
What are the advantages of using generation 2 virtual machines?
Which guest operating systems are supported?
Generation 1 virtual machines support most guest operating systems. Generation 2 virtual machines support most 64-bit versions of Windows and more current versions of Linux and FreeBSD operating systems. Use the following sections to see which generation of virtual machine will support the guest operating system you want to install.
Windows guest operating system support
CentOS and Red Hat Enterprise Linux guest operating system support
Debian guest operating system support
FreeBSD guest operating system support
Oracle Linux guest operating system support
SUSE guest operating system support
Ubuntu guest operating system support
Windows guest operating system support
The following table shows what generation 1 and generation 2 virtual machines support for 64-bit versions of Windows as guest operating systems.
64-bit versions of Windows |
Generation 1 |
Generation 2 |
|---|---|---|
Windows Server 2012 R2 |
✔ |
✔ |
Windows Server 2012 |
✔ |
✔ |
Windows Server 2008 R2 |
✔ |
✖ |
Windows Server 2008 |
✔ |
✖ |
Windows 10® |
✔ |
✔ |
Windows 8.1 |
✔ |
✔ |
Windows 8 |
✔ |
✔ |
Windows 7 |
✔ |
✖ |
The following table shows what generation 1 and generation 2 virtual machines support for 32-bit versions of Windows as guest operating systems.
32-bit versions of Windows |
Generation 1 |
Generation 2 |
|---|---|---|
Windows 10® |
✔ |
✖ |
Windows 8.1 |
✔ |
✖ |
Windows 8 |
✔ |
✖ |
Windows 7 |
✔ |
✖ |
For more information, see Generation 2 Virtual Machine Overview.
CentOS and Red Hat Enterprise Linux guest operating system support
The following table shows what generation 1 and generation 2 virtual machines support for versions of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and CentOS as guest operating systems.
Operating system versions |
Generation 1 |
Generation 2 |
|---|---|---|
RHEL/CentOS 7.x Series |
✔ |
✔ |
RHEL/CentOS 6.x Series |
✔ |
✖ |
RHEL/CentOS 5.x Series |
✔ |
✖ |
For more information, see CentOS and Red Hat Enterprise Linux virtual machines on Hyper-V.
Debian guest operating system support
The following table shows what generation 1 and generation 2 virtual machines support for versions of Debian as guest operating systems.
Operating system versions |
Generation 1 |
Generation 2 |
|---|---|---|
Debian 7.0-7.8 |
✔ |
✖ |
For more information, see Debian virtual machines on Hyper-V.
FreeBSD guest operating system support
The following table shows what generation 1 and generation 2 virtual machines support for versions of FreeBSD as guest operating systems.
Operating system versions |
Generation 1 |
Generation 2 |
|---|---|---|
FreeBSD 10 and 10.1 |
✔ |
✖ |
FreeBSD 9.1 and 9.3 |
✔ |
✖ |
FreeBSD 8.4 |
✔ |
✖ |
For more information, see FreeBSD virtual machines on Hyper-V.
Oracle Linux guest operating system support
The following table shows what generation 1 and generation 2 virtual machines support for Red Hat Compatible Kernel Series versions as guest operating systems.
Red Hat Compatible Kernel Series versions |
Generation 1 |
Generation 2 |
|---|---|---|
Oracle Linux 7.x Series |
✔ |
✔ |
Oracle Linux 6.6, 6.5, and 6.4 |
✔ |
✖ |
The following table shows what generation 1 and generation 2 virtual machines support for Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel versions as guest operating systems.
Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel (UEK) versions |
Generation 1 |
Generation 2 |
|---|---|---|
Oracle Linux UEK R3 QU3 |
✔ |
✖ |
Oracle Linux UEK R3 QU2 |
✔ |
✖ |
Oracle Linux UEK R3 QU1 |
✔ |
✖ |
For more information, see Oracle Linux virtual machines on Hyper-V.
SUSE guest operating system support
The following table shows what generation 1 and generation 2 virtual machines support for versions of SUSE as guest operating systems.
Operating system versions |
Generation 1 |
Generation 2 |
|---|---|---|
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 |
✔ |
✔ |
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP3 |
✔ |
✖ |
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP2 |
✔ |
✖ |
Open SUSE 12.3 |
✔ |
✖ |
For more information, see SUSE virtual machines on Hyper-V.
Ubuntu guest operating system support
The following table shows what generation 1 and generation 2 virtual machines support for versions of Ubuntu as guest operating systems.
Operating system versions |
Generation 1 |
Generation 2 |
|---|---|---|
Ubuntu 14.04 and later versions |
✔ |
✔ |
Ubuntu 12.04 |
✔ |
✖ |
For more information, see Ubuntu virtual machines on Hyper-V.
How can I boot the virtual machine?
The following table shows which boot methods are supported by generation 1 and generation 2 virtual machines.
Boot method |
Generation 1 |
Generation 2 |
|---|---|---|
PXE boot by using a standard network adapter |
✖ |
✔ |
PXE boot by using a legacy network adapter |
✔ |
✖ |
Boot from a SCSI virtual hard disk (.VHDX) or virtual DVD (.ISO) |
✖ |
✔ |
Boot from IDE Controller virtual hard disk (.VHD) or virtual DVD (.ISO) |
✔ |
✖ |
Boot from floppy (.VFD) |
✔ |
✖ |
What are the advantages of using generation 2 virtual machines?
Here are some of the advantages you get when you use a generation 2 virtual machine:
Secure Boot – This is a feature that verifies the boot loader is signed by a trusted authority in the UEFI database to help prevent unauthorized firmware, operating systems, or UEFI drivers from running at boot time. Secure Boot is enabled by default for generation 2 virtual machines. If you need to run a guest operating system that’s not supported by Secure Boot, you can disable it after the virtual machine’s created. For more information, see Secure Boot.
To Secure Boot generation 2 Linux virtual machines, you need to choose the UEFI CA Secure Boot template when you create the virtual machine.
Larger boot volume - The maximum boot volume for generation 2 virtual machines is 64TB. This is the maximum disk size supported by a .VHDX. For generation 1 virtual machines, the maximum boot volume is 2TB for a .VHDX and 2040GB for a .VHD. For more information, see Hyper-V Virtual Hard Disk Format Overview.
For more information like a device support comparison and frequently asked questions, see Generation 2 Virtual Machine Overview.
See Also
Generation 2 Virtual Machine Overview
Linux and FreeBSD Virtual Machines on Hyper-V